500-unit residential community on Candlewood Mountain would be 'a catalyst for conservation'

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, April 26, 2007

The votes occurred after several public hearings, with dozens of citizens voicing their opinions.

The commission debated the validity of the zoning, the feasibility of the location, the merits of the Dunham Farm site plan, and ultimately voted unanimously in favor of all three motions.

Initial site-plan approval gave Dunham Farm's developer, Vespera, a green light to embark on an enormous engineering task to create a final site plan. According to the regulations, the final plan is to be approved provided it's consistent with the initial plan.

Vespera's team has worked with the town's consultant, Milone MacBroom, to ensure the final plan is consistent with the initial plan, and we are confident the commission will agree.

The commission deserves recognition for its leadership in being one of the first zoning commissions in Connecticut to change zoning regulations to promote smart-growth development.

It recognized the inherent risks posed by continued sprawl and has sought to promote creative solutions to seemingly opposing concerns of protecting open space and accommodating housing demand.

The commission also recognized residential development for the 55-plus population as a prudent way to boost the local economy and property-tax revenues while not burdening the school system.

Dunham Farm was designed using smart-growth principles. Smart growth is a movement that advocates sustainable development practices instead of suburban sprawl.

Key principles of smart growth include creating walkable neighborhoods, taking advantage of compact building design, providing a variety of housing options, allowing for mixed land uses, fostering attractive communities with a strong sense of place and, perhaps most importantly, preserving open space.

Specifically, Dunham Farm is a 508-unit, 55-plus community of townhouses, flats and single family homes built on 60 acres of the total 164-acre site.

The community has been designed to have a New England village feel and, as a pedestrian-friendly community, 90 percent of the residences are located within a five-minute walk of the village green.

The village includes a coffee shop, general store, library, clubhouse, fitness center and meeting hall. And with preservation of open space as a central goal, more than 100 acres of natural landscape and gardens will be opened for enjoyment by all New Milford residents.

The environmental benefits go beyond reducing traffic and preserving open space and wildlife habitat. A pristine environment is a strong selling point for home buyers, and environmental sensitivity has played a key component throughout the design process.

Despite being such a large site, less than 0.4 acres of wetlands will be impacted, mitigated by creating and restoring more than one acre of wetlands elsewhere on site.

The community will treat its wastewater on site using state-of-the-art technology that has been proven across the country and designed by one of the largest sewer companies in the world. The result is treated effluent being virtually drinking water quality.

Storm water will be controlled using many of the best management practices identified in guidelines used by the state Department of Environmental Protection. One of our consultants was instrumental in writing these guidelines.

For those concerned about view preservation, it's important to know that the homes will not rise above the existing tree line, meaning the community will be hidden.

The property is a classic example of how existing zoning can allow sprawl and eliminate open space. Previously, Dunham Farm was zoned for a 57-home subdivision. While the idea of one subdivision seems harmless, since 1999 New Milford has created 56 subdivisions, adding 418 homes on 1,485 acres. Open space consisted of just 25 percent of that acreage, mostly in small, unrecognizable and relatively useless to wildlife pockets of land.

The threat to New Milford of continued sprawl is real and, by approving Dunham Farm, the commission demonstrated commitment to change.

Equally alarming are the economic implications associated with sprawl. Using the 57-home subdivision and assuming 1.07 children per household, this subdivision would actually cost New Milford $215,000 annually -- the taxes do not cover the expenses. It's easy to understand why property taxes have been escalating in recent years.

In stark contrast, Dunham Farm will have no schoolchildren and will be a strong fiscal stimulus for the town. The net fiscal impact (taxes minus expenses) from Dunham Farm is projected at more than $3.3 million annually -- more than 10 percent of New Milford's 2005-06 non-education budget. The town could use this to provide more services, reduce debt or even reduce the tax burden.

Furthermore, spending by Dunham Farm residents will have an estimated positive economic impact of $26.5 million annually, compared to only $3 million from the 57-home subdivision (source: DataCore Partners).

The public hearings for final site plan approval will begin in May. We expect a small but vocal minority will protest the commission's prior approval but, above all, we hope that residents will consider the project based on facts.

If you believe Dunham Farm is good for New Milford's future, please come to the public hearing and show your support.

We appreciate the chance to clarify our project and to talk with all interested residents. To learn more, please call us at (203) 496-6189.